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Accessible smart scales

Submitted by Tree on 28 November, 2016

High everybody,

My wife and I are interested in getting a smart scale for Christmas. Does anyone have any experience with the accessibility on this topic? We are expecting that the original setup of the scale might not be accessible, but we are ok with that, as long as the scale’s app and daily use is accessible. The Fitbit and the WITHINGS options.

This is not as important as accessibility, but we are also interested in trying to find an option that allows multiple devices to be paired together at the same time.

Forum:

User Options

The Withings Body Cardio Scale supports multiple users and has lots of features.

However, the partner app is barely usable with VoiceOver. Of the measurements that the scales are capable of recording, only body weight, BMI and body fat percentage are accessible with VoiceOver (and even then the historical data for these is presented in visual graphs which are inaccessible). Whole screens elsewhere in the app are completely inaccessible and leave much of the functionality of the scales and the app unavailable to VoiceOver users.

It’s also worth noting that the scales give visual feedback on the unit itself if you need to adjust your position. So, unless you have some residual vision to see this, you might need to have somebody assist you the first time and then try to make sure that you always stand in the same place in the future. If you don’t the measurements may not alway be accurate (or in the case of 2 of the measurements supported by the scales cannot be taken).

If you have multiple users who are similar in weight, the scales will show a prompt on the unit’s display that allows you identify who you are by raising one of your feet.

These scales cannot be setup without some sight or sighted help, as this is done on the unit itself and not the app.

One thing in its favor is that it does offer support for the native iOS Health app, so measurements can be set to automatically import to that. This does make historical data more accessible.

So, in short, these are not a great choice, but can be made to work to some extent if you are willing or if there is no better option.